I often have to travel by taxi. I’ve noticed a phenomenon: almost in every taxi I’ve been in, there are no seat belts in the back seats. Or rather, they are there, but they are impossible to use. Either the fastenings are hidden deep in the gaps between the seats, or the seats are covered with covers without holes for …
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During my time in private business, especially right after leaving government service, I was often told, “Why don’t you use your connections? Why don’t you get a government contract?” or they would say, “If you had the opportunity, would you refuse a juicy government contract?!”
Those who don’t know me may not believe it, but all my partners know that …
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If you demand to be spoken to in Russian in Russia, you are a patriot. If you demand to be spoken to in Kazakh in Kazakhstan, you are a nationalist. If you demand to be spoken to in Russian in Kazakhstan, you are a worthy representative of the Russian world, and we will protect you. If you demand to be …
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Nationalism is love for one’s nationality, the desire to develop a culture and language, to honor its history.
I respect healthy nationalism, regardless of where it comes from. If a Russian Kazakhstani speaks their native language, reads Pushkin and Dostoevsky, plays the balalaika, or celebrates Maslenitsa, I see nothing wrong with it. If a Kazakh of Chechen nationality speaks Chechen, …
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It seems to me that some of our women have a one-sided understanding of emancipation, i.e., equality of men and women in rights.
For example, some women do not yet have children or already have grown-up children and do not work, spend their time visiting beauty salons, shopping, and meeting with friends; in general, they parasitize on their husband’s income, …
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I often encounter situations at work where people are tempted to lie to their boss, colleague, or client.
A typical example: a subordinate fails to complete something at work, and when the boss asks, they, out of fear, say, “Yes, I did it,” hoping to fix the situation before the boss checks it themselves. And then, to cover up one …
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Recently, for the first time in many years, I received a reprimand.
In one establishment, I tried to pass through a narrow corridor from which a woman was exiting. The woman looked at me with a displeased expression and said to me, “Sir, where are you rushing to? Let me calmly exit.”
In that moment, I caught myself thinking that …
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Praying to God is useless. No one will send rain from the sky…
Droughts and floods will still periodically occur on our land.
But what is not useless, and what is in our hands, is being prepared for emergencies. Therefore, instead of praying, we should demand from the authorities the allocation of funds for maintaining security systems, such as space …
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For 10 years, we have studied physics, chemistry, and astronomy in school. Then, for 5 years, we study advanced mathematics and strength of materials at the university. We are informed about the water cycle in nature, how clouds form, and how precipitation falls, but… when a drought comes, we forget about our education and start praying to gods, offering sacrifices …
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As it happens, in 2017 I lived in South Korea for about a month.
What do I want to say?
It is a typical Asian country with a distinctive eastern mentality. Here the elder are venerated, the family values are strong, the collective is considered more important than the personal, the mores are not puritanical, but …
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